Featured Artist: Vincent Chen

Meet Vincent Chen, aka Vincent Ultramarine, a Melbourne-based artist creating stunning gouache landscapes and illustrations inspired by traditional Japanese animation art, nature and scenes from his overseas travels.

Inspired by his experiences while adventuring solo, Vincent's work often features transitional spaces and quiet in-between moments typically encountered whilst travelling, such as empty train stations or airports.  Emphasising the solitude of the traveller, Vincent's work exudes a calm and peaceful joy that comes from being able to fully embrace each moment, which otherwise may have passed unnoticed if with company. 

Featuring a soft, multi-hued colour palette, Vincent's body of work from his last exhibition Small World introduced a more whimsical element to his work, where he incorporated unique characters into his finely detailed nature scenes and urban cityscapes as a storytelling element.

You can find Vincent selling a range of his prints at Rose Street markets, or at the upcoming Finders Keepers and Big Design Market - if you see him, make sure to drop by for a friendly chat, or buy one of his beautiful prints!

What inspired you to pursue a creative career? I see that your background is in animation – what made you transition to the life of a traditional artist?

I started to draw and paint when I was very little and it has always been the biggest hobby for me. And I went to RMIT to study animation because I am a huge fan of Studio Ghibli and wanted to know how animations are made. However, I found myself not really interested in animating things and digital drawings/painting. Instead, I am more into making beautiful paintings like the traditional background art in the anime. After I graduated I worked as a full-time graphic designer for several years. But the thought of becoming a full-time artist was still lingering in my mind. Somehow during the lockdowns in 2020, I started to paint so much more with all my personal time and post them on social media. Many of my friends encouraged me to sell prints of my work and take commissions. And after that, I started to work towards becoming a full-time artist.

Can you share some of the key influences that have shaped your work? How do your personal experiences and cultural background intersect with your artistic influences?

My art style is heavily influenced by Japanese animation and the works of my favourite artists ---- Katsushika Hokusai, Claude Monet, and Shaun Tan. I love painting nature and places that I have been to, for example, my road trips and overseas travels. As you may know, both Hokusai and Monet were well-travelled and produced a great amount of work from their trips. And I also love incorporating some whimsical elements into my work.

We love that you post little backstories for your art pieces on Instagram, and that you incorporate unique characters and small details that effectively illustrate the narratives within your work. How does storytelling play a role in your art, and where did your love for storytelling come from?

Painting pieces of a landscape or cityscape doesn't really satisfy me as they will only look like a background of 'something'. And I always feel like my work is lacking or less interesting if there's no character in it. So I started to add a little boy character into my work to make up some stories. I guess my love for storytelling came from my interest in Ukyio-e, manga and children's books as these art forms always convey compelling stories.

Continuing the storytelling theme, could you tell us the story behind a specific piece of your art? Pick your favourite!

'Darkness' is my favourite story among all my works. It features the boy character who is about to go through a tunnel where full of aggressive dark creatures. His goal is to fetch back his pink cap on the other side of the tunnel. The dark creatures emerge after 6 pm when the sun is setting but they can only hide in the dark and fear light. The notes (graffiti) on the two sides of the tunnel tell two stories. One side is warning people to keep away, while the other side is giving you kind advice to go through the tunnel with your light source on and it will be okay. Just like all the darkness and difficulties we encounter in life, people give us various advice, but the choice is still on our own. And the boy decides to brave up and face the unknown darkness with his lamp and a stick.

Many of your artworks portray abandoned, in-between or transitional spaces, such as empty railway stations or airports, sometimes referred to as liminal spaces. Why do you return to these types of spaces in your work?

I guess the reason why I chose these spaces is because I often travelled alone and I felt most inspired when there was no one around me, thereby enabling me to embrace the loneliness and to observe the beauty of that particular space and moment. I got to appreciate the lights and shadows in a train station, the reflections on the floor in the airport, and an abandoned corner in a suburb where full of broken bricks, graffiti and wildly grown grass. It is in this process that I was able to transform my loneliness into a peaceful mind and bring some serenity into my work.

Not only are you an accomplished gouache artist, you can count ceramics, graphic design and animation among your creative skillset. What are your favourite tools and techniques to work with when creating?

I guess all these skills came from my educational background. I always like to explore different techniques when it comes to visual arts. But my favourite is still gouache painting on paper. Sometimes I brought my painting gear when I travelled and I painted on location because gouache is very portable, quick drying and easy to mix.

Who is the recurring boy character you paint into your artworks? Is he an extension of your own personal experiences and thoughts, or just a character you’ve created?

He could be anything or anyone! Initially, I used him as a character to depict my personal experience. But as my series of paintings expand, I have a lot of imaginative stories that are based on books, folklore and dreams, and I still included him in my work. Many people have asked me to give him a name. But I think it's best to leave him unnamed. Because I want my audience can relate their experience or thoughts to my character. Naming the character will make him too 'specific'. And I also want to him a bit mysterious :)

Your work incorporates a uniquely bright and airy, multi-hued colour palette which masterfully evokes emotion and atmosphere. What influences your choice of colours when you start a new art piece? Are there any real-world references that inspire you?

Most of my paintings are based on real locations and I took many reference photos. I usually make several tiny colour studies/sketches first before I work on the actual painting. The colour choices that I made can be different from the real world as I try to make a more interesting colour palette. I always exaggerate the contrast of the lighting and the saturation of some particular colours of my work, for example, blue and pink. Blue and pink always make a scene look more dreamy.

How do you find inspiration or sources of motivation when you’re feeling stuck with creative block? Do you have any tools or tricks to help get you back on track?

I used to have many moments when I felt really uninspired or didn't know what to paint next. But now I tend to come up with themes/series to work on. Like having a 'train station series' so I can constantly find train stations to paint. I now have a new series called 'Little Moments In Japan' for which I painted lots of small objects and scenes when I saw in Japan. Working on a series can increase so much productivity.

What’s next for your art practise? Do you have any new projects, exhibitions or goals you’d like to achieve by the end of the year?

Many small things! I will try to enter more group exhibitions next year as I haven't done any this year. And I will also continue working on the 'Little Moments in Japan' series and hopefully it will expand to 12 pieces. I will also have a stall in Finders Keepers in this October, and The Big Design Market in December. So please drop by and say hello :)